


Dreamers

by LizAnn_5869



Series: Prompts and Requests [8]
Category: Broadchurch
Genre: 100 ways to say i love you, Dreams, F/M, First Kisses, Prompt Fic, Romance begins
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-30
Updated: 2016-04-13
Packaged: 2018-05-30 03:29:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,476
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6406846
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LizAnn_5869/pseuds/LizAnn_5869
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ellie and Alec find themselves at the start of something brilliant.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter One- Ellie

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Lily_Dragon](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lily_Dragon/gifts).



> For @Lily_Dragon, who requested the prompt "I dreamt of you" for Alec Hardy and Ellie Miller, from the 100 Ways to Say I Love You meme on tumblr.  
> I needed some fluff to give me a break from the angst of the other Broadchurch I'm writing. Having said that, it's really fluffy.  
> It is a standalone, and does not figure into my Broadchurch series.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ellie and Hardy find themselves on the brink of something brilliant.

They were no longer the Former Detectives Club. They were cold case detectives in Broadchurch and they were brilliant. Hardy knew they would be, it had taken Miller a bit longer to become convinced. 

They spent as much time together as ever but now it wasn't as emotionally charged as the time spent on Danny's and Pippa's investigation. They found themselves having discussions about mundane day to day things. Miller discovered that Hardy could actually do small talk. It was a bit of a miracle. 

And he smiled from time to time. She thought that it was more due to the fact that Daisy was in his life again, was willing to travel between Sandbrook and Broadchurch to spend time with him. Her children met his daughter and everyone got along. Saturday movie and games nights became routine. It felt lovely to have a friend. Somewhere along the line, they had become best friends. Both of their hearts were healing.

It was lovely and comfortable and familiar, and so when Ellie woke with a shock after having quite the erotic dream of a gruff, bearded Scottish detective, she was gobsmacked. She couldn't go back to sleep. She tossed and turned and the images in her brain were as vivid as they were when she dreamed them. 

Did she really think of him that way? Well, it seemed that she must, considering what her overtired brain had conjured. Since she was a good detective, she examined this development from all angles. The solution to the mystery, after much thought in the early morning hours, was yes. She did think of him that way. Not only was she not adverse to jumping him, she suspected there also might be deeper feelings there, and they'd been there for a while. She didn't just wake up suddenly craving a grouchy Scot. 

Bloody hell. Could she ever look Hardy in the eye again? 

"You're tetchy," Hardy said later on that morning after she'd practically slapped his hand away from the file he'd started to take from her. 

"Am not," she muttered.

"Are too. Who put the bee up your bum? Been a while since you've been pissed at me for merely existin'," he groused back.

"Drop it," she warned. Her stern tone was undermined by the loud yawn that followed her warning. "S'cuse me," she muttered.

Hardy looked at her, considering. "Didn't you sleep?"

She shot him a look. "Good observation, DI Obvious." She winced. He really didn't deserve her bitchiness this morning. She was just so....out of sorts. Frustrated. ("Sexually frustrated," her inner voice said. Her inner voice sounded a lot like Lucy today.)

"Well, s'not my fault you didn't sleep," Hardy grumbled, snatching the file back. 

"Well, yeah, it kind of is," she almost said, but then settled for snatching the file back to put papers in it before handing it back to Hardy. 

Ellie walked to the bench later. She needed to be away, to think. It didn't help. Once her subconscious had latched on to that image of Hardy it was difficult to get it out of her mind, and she just did not know how to deal with it. 

She thought that she'd never be ready to consider a relationship with anyone, not after Joe. She trusted Hardy, though. She knew he'd never break her trust or her heart like Joe did. Joe hid evil behind a perfect facade, Hardy was gloriously imperfect. She trusted Hardy with her life and with her sons' lives. 

If the opportunity ever arose, she decided she'd take it. Right, then, she decided. If Hardy ever feels that way about me then I'll take him up on it. Okay, she thought. Decision made.

In the meantime what was she supposed to do? Give subtle hints? Not so subtle hints? Wait for him to make a move? Lock his office door and jump him? (There's Lucy again, she realized.)

Ellie put her elbows on her knees and her face in her hands. She hated relationships. She never expected to have to do this again. Well, she didn't have to, she realized. She could keep the status quo. 

Ellie started muttering to herself, not caring how daft she looked.

"You have one hot dream and suddenly you're planning your life with him? Seriously, Miller, you're daft. Why ruin a perfectly good friendship anyway. If it all goes to hell, he'll leave. There's nothing holding him here."

It amazed her how much the thought of that hurt. Tears stung her eyes. She'd gone from contemplating a relationship to a horrible breakup in the span of a minute. "I'm a ridiculous mess," she whispered.

"Miller?" 

Ellie hoped he hadn't heard her little soliloquy. She took a second to gather herself then looked up at Alec Hardy, who held two steaming travel mugs of tea. 

The sight of him nearly made the tears bloom and fall. He had been smiling but it faded into a look of concern. "What happened? Did Joe do...."

"No," she cut him off, gratefully accepting the tea. He joined her on the bench. "Just tired and emotional, I suppose."

Hardy nodded. He was used to her being tired and emotional. He understood her. That just made him more endearing. A cute Hardy just made it all harder to deal with. 

"D' ya need a hug?" he finally asked.  
Her eyes widened, and she sat back, stunned.

She realized suddenly that he he took her reaction as a rejection, looking first disappointed, then resigned. She also realized she had no hope of ever playing it cool around him, not now. In a rush she blurted, "I dreamt of you last night. It had me a bit...discombobulated."

He took a second to process that information, then said with a smirk, "Was it a nightmare? Let me guess. You finally threw that cup of piss at me but you missed."

Ellie pressed her lips together, trying not to smile and failing miserably. "Knob," she muttered. "Not a nightmare." 

"Oh. Well. I'm sorry for whatever I did in the dream."

"You've nothing to be sorry about." Ellie glanced at him and she knew exactly when the penny dropped. She averted her eyes, looking out at the sea. Alec was staring at the water as well. 

Finally he spoke softly, and Ellie felt the caress of his voice all the way down to her toes. "Would it help to know I've dreamt of you as well?"

Ellie kept her eyes trained on the ocean. She could feel the warm flush creeping up her neck. "Might do. Was it a good dream?" 

Alec's answering growl gave her goosebumps. "Very." He'd inched closer to her and placed his hand on the bench next to hers. When she placed her hand on top she heard him expel a deep breath. Ellie linked her fingers with his and he stroked her thumb. That small touch shattered any resolve Ellie might have had remaining. It also swept away all doubt and she found the courage to look at him.

Alec was already gazing at her. He leaned in. She mirrored his action. It felt so inevitable. Alec's hand cupped her cheek and he tilted his head. A bare second later he'd captured her lower lip between his own and she returned the pressure. The gentle insistence of his lips on hers was so tender she felt the sting of tears again. She tasted the tea they'd been drinking. 

When the kiss ebbed away they sat together, foreheads touching, breathless, smiling. "Already much better than the dreams," he murmured.

"Dreams?" Ellie said as he kissed her forehead. "As in more than one?"

"Aye."

"Since...how long?"

"Does it matter, Miller?"

"You just snogged me, so call me Ellie. Get used to it. And no, it doesn't matter. Just curious."

He distracted her with another kiss. She had the feeling he was contemplating her question while he snogged her. "It's been quite a while," he finally answered. He gazed at her, his eyes wide and earnest. "You're the reason I stay here, Ellie."

That was all she needed to know. She leaned in and pressed her lips to his. This time it was her hand caressing his cheek, and his whiskers felt heavenly. He nuzzled into her touch with a sigh. Ellie thought fleetingly that it had likely been a long time since he'd been touched like that. She recalled the times she just wasn't ready for his touch or comfort and had jerked away from him and it saddened her. Her heart was too full of him to ever reject him now. 

"So," she gasped when they broke apart, "now what do we do?"

He chuckled. "I'm all for carrying on as we're doing right now."

"Good plan," Ellie agreed. Hardy kissed her again. 


	2. Chapter 2 - Hardy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hardy reacts to Ellie's surprising admission.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one's for nannyogg123, KTRose, and EvieBee, who all encouraged me to write it again from Hardy's POV. And of course for LilyDragon, who prompted me to write it in the first place.

"You're tetchy," Hardy announced after nearly being smacked, actually smacked by Ellie. As far as he could tell he'd only committed the capital offense of picking up a folder. 

 

It went downhill from there, as they engaged in a very mature "am not" "are too" battle the likes of which he hadn't seen since Daisy's nursery school days. 

Hardy's mere existence seemed to grate on her nerves. That, of course was not an unusual occurrence, as it had been the usual state of their relationship since the very beginning. However, Hardy had been under the impression that things were improving on that front. 

Hardy was somewhat relieved when Miller snapped and growled like a rabid animal at everyone in her path. It appeared that all their heads were on the chopping block, not just his. 

He was settled at his desk after his run in with Miller, looking over the case file without really seeing it. When he read the same sentence four times he had to give it up and look away. He glanced over at Ellie who apparently had found another victim. She was gesticulating angrily at Nish, who looked slightly shell shocked. And Miller was loud.

Okay, maybe her blanket condemnation of humanity wasn't a good thing today. 

Hardy considered his options, didn't see one where he could avoid a beheading, so he steeled himself and approached her. 

"What," she snarled.

"Is something bothering you? You seem a little...upset." Hardy mentally congratulated himself. In the past Tess would have accused him of being oblivious to the emotional state of anyone he cared about. Couldn't read the social cues, she always said. 

He was richly rewarded for his effort by Ellie slamming down the mug she'd been holding. She growled, "Why are you being nice to me? I...I need some air." She snatched her orange jacket off the back of her chair and swept out of the room. 

Well, apparently she wasn't retreating to the loo. 

Hardy sighed. He made his way back to his desk then thought better of it. He changed directions and went instead to the break room. He rifled through the cabinet, finding a box of green tea bags and another box full of Earl Grey. It wouldn't be proper, heating up the water in a microwave, but it would do.

Hardy wondered if Ellie had heard from Joe. That would certainly account for her temper, but he was also fairly certain she'd tell him. He hadn't heard anything from any of his police contacts in Sheffield, so he hoped that it meant Joe hadn't made a trip back to Broadchurch. Perhaps he was contacting her. He knew her biggest fear was that Joe would demand visitation. 

If that was it, he'd help figure out some options. He felt confident he could help her with that. 

If it wasn't, then they were veering off into uncharted territory. 

"Why are you being nice to me?" She had said, not for the first time. He was afraid that she wouldn't want to hear his answer. Hardy cared deeply for her. He probably had since Joe's arrest. He thought at first it might have been pity he was feeling, and his heart had definitely gone out to her. Over time he had come to realize that it wasn't him feeling sorry. It was love, and it was definitely one sided. And that was fine. He wasn't physically able to have any relationship at that point in his life, and he needed to fix his relationship with Daisy first. 

Hardy and Daisy were slowly but surely finding their way back to each other. He was feeling physically better. The new job was much less stressful and he got to work with Ellie. She was brilliant. Slowly the stresses of his life were starting to melt away, leaving him with time and energy to think of other things. His thoughts turned to Ellie, particularly after an evening spent with her boys and Daisy eating in her back yard or getting ninety-nines at the beach. 

He began to sleep better, exhausted by chasing a toddler and entertaining the teens. Gradually the dreams of Pippa had become less frequent. 

They were replaced occasionally by dreams of another sort. 

The first dream had happened a few months before. The dreams were rather enthusiastic. He had a good imagination, he discovered. They weren't every night, thank goodness. Nightly dreams of Ellie would have put his pacemaker through a workout. The morning after that first dream had found Alec uncommunicative and unable to look her in the eye. She had chattered away, oblivious, used to that kind of behavior from him. 

Alone at home it made him wonder about the possibilities. When he was with Ellie he couldn't help imagining confessing all to her. One evening she had smiled at him as they cleared off the picnic table in the back yard. Ellie had no idea how that smile in the sunset light had affected Hardy. He very nearly put her up against the privacy fence and snogged her senseless. Luckily Daisy and Fred had burst out of the house, distracting them. He shuddered to think what her reaction would have been. He decided he could love her from afar. It was better to do that than to ruin their friendship. He couldn't bear the thought of that.

Two mugs of tea in hand, he made his way outside. Hardy knew where to find her. 

When he found her, he put on a smile, hoping to disarm her. Hardy found himself in an unusual role reversal. He was smiling, she was brooding. She was also muttering. He heard her murmur "I am a ridiculous mess."

"Miller?" Hardy inquired. 

Ellie startled. Her eyes were watery and wide. Her lower lip wobbled. We're in crisis mode, he thought. He sat down next to her and offered her a mug, which she accepted with shaking hands. She took a long sip as he tried to decide on the best way to approach this. 

He latched onto the problem he thought he'd have the best chance of solving. "What happened? Did Joe...."

Ellie interrupted, "No. Just tired and emotional, I suppose."

Hardy never knew what to do when Ellie was emotional and tired. Raining hell down on Joe Miller was a concrete thing he could do without hesitation. Her emotional state had him flummoxed. He nodded as if he understood.

Hardy offered the only comfort he could. "D'you want a hug?"

Ellie sat up straight and actually scooted away. Her eyes were wide with what Hardy interpreted as horror. Hardy's heart lurched in a way his pacemaker would never help.  
He wasn't surprised by her rejection, but it didn't make it hurt any less. Hardy tried not to let it show, but he wasn't successful.

Ellie's breath caught, and she seemed to realize the effect her action had on him. She gave him a kind but watery smile and he braced himself for total rejection. Ellie blurted in a rush, "I dreamt of you last night. It had me a bit...discombobulated."

Hardy's brain didn't seem to work at all for a couple of seconds. When he could think, his mind was whirling with questions and wild hope and memories of the times he'd dreamt of her smiling up at him as he loved her. He quashed that thought. He smirked, trying to save face, and stated, "Was it a nightmare? Let me guess, you finally threw that cup of piss at me but you missed."

Ellie tried to hold it back, but a smile burst forth, warming him in the chilly autumn air. "Knob," she muttered. He took some comfort in that familiar insult. "Not a nightmare."

Because he felt he should, he apologized. "I'm sorry for whatever I did in the dream." He looked out at the horizon.

Her voice washed over him, soothing. "You've nothing to be sorry for." She glanced at him and he saw something different in her eyes. Wild hope bloomed again, because if she was implying what he thought she was implying.....

Another thought occurred to him. She was behaving just as he did after that first dream he had of her. She was a little ball of fury compared to his introverted, antisocial reaction, but still, the point stood. 

Hardy was encouraged enough to take a leap of faith. Before he could change his mind he said softly, "Would it help to know I've dreamt of you as well?"

Hardy thought he'd gone back into one of his dreams when he saw the blush creeping up Miller's neck. He felt a thrill spark its way up his spine.

Ellie's eyes were sparkling when she replied. She still couldn't quite look at him, but she was grinning. "Might do. Was it a good one?"

Hardy very nearly did not recognize the low growl of his own voice . He hadn't spoken that way to a woman since Tess. "Very," he growled.  
It occurred to him that moving closer might be a good thing to do at that moment. He inched closer, both still looking out at the sea. 

Ellie's hand came to rest on his. She linked their fingers. The contact thrilled him. His heart was racing in the best way. They turned away from the sea and gazed at each other. Hardy leaned in. Ellie met him in the middle.

Hardy and Ellie had done a fair amount of kissing, in his dreams, but this was was so much better. He was not prepared for how right, how inevitable it felt to capture her lip between his own. Each press of lips felt like bliss. A part of his mind marveled that he remembered how to do this at all. His hands were shaking, but so were hers, so that was fine.

Eventually they broke apart, but they didn't want any space between them. Forehead to forehead they sat, reveling in the closeness. Hardy sighed, "So much better than the dreams."

"Dreams?" she murmured. She kissed his forehead and his eyes fell closed in contentment. "As in more than one?"

Hardy admitted, "Aye." 

"Since how long?"

Hardy wasn't ready to admit to that yet. "Miller, does it matter?"

"You just snogged me, so call me Ellie. And no, it doesn't. Just curious."

That was a conversation for another time, Hardy decided. He leaned in and kissed her again, and it was just as brilliant as the first one. He concentrated on the feeling of soft lips and tongue tips tasting. He did think about how much he was ready to disclose. Finally the kiss ebbed away and he answered her, looking her in the eye. "It's been quite a while." He found himself confessing more. "You're the reason I stay here, Ellie."

Ellie leaned in and pressed her lips to his as she caressed his cheek. He nuzzled into her touch, sighing. It was done. There was no going back now. Her fingers caressed his cheek and he didn't think he'd ever want her to stop. 

Her eyes sparkled when they pulled apart, breathless. She gasped, "So, now what do we do?"

Keep snogging. Maybe more than snogging. The fact that it was the middle of a work day really was of no concern to him. He could stay on this bench in front of the endless sea with the endless sky forever as long as he was with Ellie.

He chuckled at the impracticality of that idea, but he still told her, "I'm all for carrying on as we're doing right now."

"Good plan," Ellie agreed. 

Hardy nodded, draping his arm across her shoulders, pulling her in close. He kissed her again, just because he could.

Over time, as they adjusted to this new normal, and figured out how to meld two families and two homes together, it became a brilliant plan. It was messy and noisy and decidedly not perfect, but it was them. And it was better than they could have dreamed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It was a lot of fun writing this again from Hardy's POV. I love requests and prompts in my ask box on Tumblr.


End file.
